


Friends Like These

by brilliantbanshee



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [9]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: And he's not afraid to use it, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Carlos is a BAMF, Hurt TK, M/M, TK tries to do the right thing and it backfires, Worried Carlos, Worried Judd, worried owen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23707348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brilliantbanshee/pseuds/brilliantbanshee
Summary: TK hadn’t started it this time, he swears. He had just been minding his own business when he saw this guy harassing a girl. So, of course, he said something. He hadn’t realized the guy would take it so badly, and he definitely hadn’t realized that he had much larger, angrier friends.Or, TK gets in a bar fight that is definitely not his fault.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1209081
Comments: 20
Kudos: 425
Collections: 9-1-1 Lone Star ▶ Carlos Reyes / Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand, Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Friends Like These

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a TK centric hurt/comfort bthb fic, but then conversations happened and now I feel like it's at least half a "Carlos being a badass cop" fic so, yeah. Not too upset though. 
> 
> Prompt: Outnumbered in a fight

He hadn’t meant to start it this time, really. 

In fact, all he had wanted was some quiet to make a phone call.

It was in pursuit of this that TK had headed outside, leaving his crew on the dance floor. He and Carlos had planned on meeting up after work, and TK was just going to call him to let him know they were at the usual bar if he just wanted to meet up there. (He was fairly sure Carlos already knew this and  _ maybe _ he was just looking for an excuse to call his boyfriend but whatever, it wasn’t his fault Carlos had an incredibly sexy voice.) 

When he gets outside, however, he doesn’t find the quiet he was seeking. Rather he finds a drunk guy catcalling a girl who was alone and clearly uncomfortable. As soon as he steps out the door her eyes find him and she gives him a pleading look. TK’s heart went out to her. She couldn’t have been much over 20 and this guy was at least a decade older and she was just trying to leave. So he said something to him, just as anyone else with a decent bone in their body would have done (or so he liked to think). 

The problem was, this guy was very intoxicated and did not take kindly to his constructive criticism about respectful interactions with women. The other (somewhat larger) problem was that the guy had friends (who, it turns out, were also somewhat larger.) 

TK had honestly been surprised when the first punch came. He really hadn’t thought that what he said would incur that kind of wrath, but he wasn’t a drunk middle-age guy overcompensating at a bar on a Thursday night so what did he know?

The blows kept coming, but TK was nothing if not scrappy. What he lacked in size he made up for in speed and agility. He was doing pretty okay; if he did say so himself. The other guy had only landed one blow so far, TK had managed to dodge the rest. He was really trying not to hit back - the last thing he needed was to be arrested for fighting (again). That was not how he wanted to meet Carlos’s coworkers, thank you very much. 

They continued like that for a while and TK thought that maybe he could wear the other guy out. He was older and drunk, so it didn’t seem like it would be too hard. But that plan went out the window when his (larger) friends decided to step in. TK only had a moment to survey the situation before they were on him. In that moment the only coherent thought TK could muster was “fuck.” 

Then they were on him and it was all he could do to try to keep his head protected as the blows rained down. They came hard and fast, there was not time for even a breath between each blow. He was on the ground in moments, and the kicks started. He vaguely heard screaming - the girl maybe? TK had hoped that she would have hightailed it out of there, but he was too focused on not blacking out to really give it any further thought at the moment. His world was a haze of pain and a blur of movement. 

After what felt like a lifetime, the door to the bar slammed open and there were more voices. Some of them sounded familiar. There was commotion, and gradually, the blows stopped. TK slowly allowed himself to unfold. He felt hands on him and was about to lash out when he heard his father’s voice, laced with worry.

“Hey, TK, it’s okay, it’s just me.”

TK slowly unfurled himself, looking up to find Owen’s face above him, creased in worry. He starts to pull himself up but then stops, pain flaring up and causing him to halt in his movements. Owen anxiously puts a hand on his shoulder, “Are you okay? What hurts?”

TK tried to take a mental inventory. He experimentally moved his limbs, finding them all thankfully functional. He felt something warm on his face and ran his hand across his mouth to come up with blood. Hopefully, that was just from the split lip he could feel pulling even as he gave a grimace of pain. He sucked in another breath only to find that it was as painful as the last 4. Great, just great. All he needed was more trauma to his lungs. Hopefully, it was only bruising. 

“My ribs mostly, I think. Honestly, I’m kind of sore all over, but I’ll live.” He pulled himself up again, this time with Owen’s help. He got to his feet, but when he tried to take a step he swayed dangerously. His dad gave him an imploring look. “Maybe my head a bit as well, TK conceded. Owen shook his head with exasperation, but tightened his grip and helped TK get to the wall beside the door, where he leaned, using the wall as a crutch. Judd was soon hovering over him as well. 

“You okay kid?” he asked anxiously. 

TK nodded, and winced. “Mostly,” he said. Definitely bruised though.” 

Judd’s expression softened the barest amount, “What the hell happened?” he asked, anger still lacing his tone, “Why’d those guys jump you?” 

A new voice, soft and timid, interrupted before TK could speak, “He was helping me.” 

All three men turned to find the source of the voice, to find the young girl the men had been harassing. Owen and Judd look puzzled, but TK gives her a strained smile. “Are you okay?” he asks her. 

“I think I’m the one that should be asking you that,” she replies, voice strained. 

At Judd and Owen’s questioning looks she explained, “I was leaving after my shift and there was a guy who was yelling things at me, awful things. I was just trying to get to my car, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. I was starting to get nervous, worried he might try to do more, when he walked out,” she gestured to TK, “and stepped in. He told him to lay off and leave me alone and well…”

“He didn’t take too kindly to that,” Judd surmised. 

The girl nodded, anxiously. “Are you alright?” She asked TK, her voice laced with worry, “I’m so thankful for what you did, but I would hate for you to get hurt on account of me.”

TK gave her his best approximation of a reassuring smile, “Nothing I won’t walk away from, don’t worry about it. Besides, it’s not your fault.” He tried to stand upright again, but another gasp of pain escaped his lips and Owen gently pushed him back to the wall. 

“Nice try, but I don’t think you’re in any shape to go anywhere just yet.”

TK opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a new voice, cutting through the commotion with authority, “What’s going on here?”

Carlos. TK really did not need another concerned party in the mix, but it looked like the universe had other plans. He tried to pull himself up a little straighter as Carlos pushed through the crowd, looking to find the source of the disruption. He reached the center and took in the scene before him: Paul and a few other patrons restraining the friends, Owen and Judd hovering by TK, who was still using the wall as a crutch, blood still smearing his face. 

TK only had time to be grateful that he was at least standing before Carlos spoke, “TK, why am I not surprised?” His voice was purposefully calm, but TK knew him well enough to know that he was torn somewhere between concern and exasperation. 

“Hey, babe,” TK replied, plastering on what he hoped was a winning smile. Carlos ran his eyes over him; checking him for injuries most likely - though the possibility of him checking TK out could never be fully overruled. 

Seemingly satisfied that his boyfriend is not in any immediate danger, he turned to Judd for an explanation. Judd gave him the basic facts, and the girl - Mia, apparently - filled in some of the specifics. As she spoke, Carlos’s expression tightened. Without another word, he pulled out his phone and made a call. He spoke softly, but TK was pretty sure he heard him provide his badge number, which left very few possibilities even in his pain hazed mind. Once he finished, he crossed to where the man who had started it all was, hovering on the edge of the line of offenders, trying his best to look as nonconsequential as possible. 

Carlos stopped in front of him and stared down at him, arms crossed and expression stern. The guy was starting to get nervous. “I didn’t do anything,” he tried, weakly. 

Carlos scoffed, “Really? Because I have two witnesses who say that’s not true. You expect me to take your word for it though? I think in this case, I’ll trust the majority.”

Instead of wilting, the guy started to puff up. “What are you going to do about it?” he asked in what he clearly thought was a challenging tone. 

Carlos didn’t rise to the bait. He simply raised an eyebrow at the other man and pulled out his badge for him to see, “I’ve already made a call, officers will be here shortly to take you to lockup. I would suggest you take some time to think about how you interact with anyone here while you’re waiting however; your actions will determine how pleasant the next 10 minutes are for you.” 

“Are you threatening me?” he exclaimed, the challenge still in his voice. 

“No, just stating a fact,” Carlos replied calmly. 

The guy started again, his voice thick with vitriol, and TK had to take a moment to marvel at his stupidity. He just did not know when to quit. 

“What are ya going to do,” he said with a scoff, “throw me in and lock away the key?” 

Paul stifled a laugh and Carlos raised an eyebrow again, “something like that,” he agreed.

“Well, good luck,” the guy said, throwing back his shoulders in a show of confidence, “my sister’s husband’s cousin is a lawyer and he is going to sue the crap out of you for harassment. I’ll be out by morning and I’ll be back to make sure that bitch and the sissy get what they deserve.”

The night seemed to go silent around them as everyone else involved realized what a mistake he had made well before the man himself did. He was still staring at Carlos in supposed triumph, not noticing or choosing to ignore the shift in the air and the change in Carlos’s stance. 

Carlos stepped forward, closing the distance between them and leaned forward so he was even closer, “You’re not very bright are you?” He asked in mock sympathy, his voice hard, “Because I honestly don’t know if you realize that you just threatened two people in front of a police officer and a handful of witnesses, and that’s not going to go well for you.” 

The man tried to interject, but Carlos did not pause, “In just a matter of minutes, there will be officers here to bring you and your friends in. Now, in the meantime, no matter how much you try to provoke me, I am not going to make the mistake to lay a hand on you, because I know that is what you want. It’s the one thing that could make all this go away; the ultimate trump card. I’m sorry, but I’m smarter than that. What  _ is _ going to happen is that you are going to be arrested, and processed. I can’t guarantee what your punishment will be but I can promise you that I will be keeping an eye out for you. If you  _ ever _ reappear in the system again for any reason, I will make sure that, as a repeat offender, you get the highest possible sentence for whatever crime you commit. Do I make myself clear?” 

The man cowered in the weight of Carlos’s gaze and mumbled a “yes sir.”

Carlos nodded, taking the smallest step back, “Good,” he nodded, “now we wait, quietly.”

* * *

As soon as the other officers had cleared out the offenders, Carlos crossed over to TK. He was still leaning on the wall, but as Carlos approached he tried to take a step forward and was pleased when he didn’t immediately fall on his face. 

“Are you okay?” Carlos asked him anxiously, reaching out a gentle hand to brush against his bloody lip. 

“You know,” TK said, avoiding the question, “that was really hot.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m just saying, it was.” 

Carlos rolled his eyes, but couldn’t quite contain the smile that spread across his face. 

Judd huffed a laugh from beside the pair, “I’d say the kid’s feeling better.”

Owen shook his head, “Maybe so, but there is no way he is not going to get those injuries checked out.”

TK rolled his eyes, “I’ll go to the ER and get checked out, but we’re driving there - no ambulances.”

Owen nodded, “deal.” 

Carlos ran his hands down TK’s arms and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. “How do you keep getting yourself in these situations cariño?”

“It’s not like I go looking for them,” TK gripped, “all I did was walk outside. Besides, do you really think that I would rather spend the night at the hospital than with you?”

Carlos laughed again, gently pulling him closer for another soft kiss, “I’m just glad you’re okay, and that you’re not the one I’m arresting this time.”

Before TK could come up with a response, Owen turned around; a suspicious expression on his face, “What do you mean ‘this time’?” 

TK groaned and buried his face in Carlos’s shoulder as his boyfriend rumbled with laughter. 

“Traitor,” he muttered. 

**Author's Note:**

> There it is, thoughts? Let me know!
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](https://brillliantbanshee.tumblr.com/)


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